Opinions - Topics from January, 2015

Clint Eastwood’s new movie, “American Sniper,” marks the return of the American war hero.
Heroism on the battlefield had never gone away, of course, far from it (witness the Medal of Honors awarded for acts of extraordinary valor in Iraq and Afghanistan). But the classic war hero is more than just brave or fierce. He is famous and almost universally acclaimed. On top of his battlefield exploits, he is a cultural phenomenon.
That is what “American Sniper” unquestionably makes of Chris Kyle. The late Navy SEAL sniper had already written a best-selling memoir and was known as “The Legend” within the military for his record number of confirmed kills during four tours in Iraq. The success of the movie, where he is played by Bradley Cooper, also means he will be remembered as a larger-than-life figure. Such is the power of the silver screen.
“American Sniper” had the largest opening weekend ever in January. It is producing the kind of numbers usually reserved for mindless comic-book superhero movies. It has played especially well in Middle America, with its top-grossing theaters in places like San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Houston and Albuquerque.
All of this is profoundly disquieting to the left, which has so much sway in Hollywood. It hates and distrusts the idea of the war hero, believing it smacks of backwardness and jingoism. Its notion of compelling war movies were the tendentiously anti-war flops “Green Zone,” “Stop-Loss” and “In the Valley of Elah.” Its reaction to “American Sniper” has been to belittle the movie and smear Chris Kyle.[Full Story »]

Dear editor,
I am 74 years old and have known the golf course behind Handy Andy in Eastman all my life, but I have never known the name of it. I had always thought it was part of the cotton mill. Did they own it? Did they name it? You tell me.
There is a lot of history there. My brother, Robert Graham was a regular caddy for Cliff Fields, the Leeland Hotel manager, and Fields was not playing on this particular day so Robert met Fred Saunders at the drug store where he was told to be at the course at 1:00 p.m. that day to caddy for a guest.
Robert and Saunders met and the guest was introduced as Spud Chandler. It was a usual 18 holes of golf. The only excitement was when the caddies drove the golfer’s carts while the golfers went to Mr. White’s store at the end of nine holes. Mr. White’s store is where the “medicine show” came to town and where I learned you could rub some liniments onto your shoe and your toe would get well. However, when Robert learned that Spud Chandler was one of the best pitchers for the New York Yankees, I think he could have jumped over the water tank at the cotton mill.
The golf course was the site of BB gun and sling shot wars between downtown boys and cotton mill boys until Cottondale School closed and then we all became downtown boys.
Many young boys learned to swim in the stagnated pond by the railroad tracks and often became victims of a keen switch whipping when mamas found out. Switches were readily available at the pond.
I could write forever, but if you know the name of the golf course, let me know.
Billy R. Graham

Dear editor,
One must wonder where this nation is headed as we see how her citizens have changed over to the ways of the world. More and more Americans are drifting away from the saying that when someone has a problem you can lean on me.
This nation is failing in raising God fearing children created in his image. The result is to build more prison while trying to rehabilitate men because they are not trained as children. Has America become a nation that is pushing with one hand and pulling with the other? What will become of a nation where most of its citizens are willing to by the farm but do not want to work on it?
Our younger generation must be taught that the only limitations they have are the ones they place on themselves. Americans will not escape history for it is destined to repeat itself.
The main two principles are right and wrong. Life is not where one starts but where they finish. The price of greatness is the price of responsibility. People may forget what one says or does but they will not forget how one makes them feel. Love is one thing that can drive hate out. Kindness can some times be masked for evil. The ultimate measure of a man or woman is not where they stand on moments of comfort or convenience, but where they stand at times of challenge and controversy.
Johnny L. Blacke, MSG (r)

Dear editor,
Reading Buddies are needed!
It has been my pleasure for a number of years to serve as a Reading Buddy at South Dodge Elementary School. Spending thirty minutes each week with a child has been an extremely gratifying opportunity to get to know some of the students and faculty.
There are so many of you out there with time and talents to be a Reading Buddy. Contact your child’s school and volunteer. I promise you won’t regret it.
As a result of being a Reading Buddy, I also have the privilege of walking the hallways in the school and reading the bulletin boards that the teachers create. Usually they contain pictures or stories that your children have put together. I wonder sometimes if the parents appreciate the time and energy that the teachers spend to make school a more enjoyable place for your children.
Thank you teachers for all you do!
Joyce A. Whittle

Dear editor,
A couple of weeks ago you ran a front-page article on slow-moving farm equipment on our roads and regulations that farmers are required to follow. One in particular is the slow-moving triangle that must be in clear sight and attached to the rear of the equipment. I believe this is very important to the safety of all on our highways/roads. I applaud all farmers who are in compliance with the rules of the road when moving their equipment via our roads/highways!
Do these same regulations apply to the four-wheel vehicles and golf carts that are becoming an everyday scene on our roads (county and state) within our city limits and Dodge County? These vehicles are not manufactured for highway/road transportation; neither do they contribute to the upkeep of our roads/highways by paying taxes for tags. Why? Do they have seat belts?
To add to that concern, I’ve seen under-aged, non-licensed driving these within our city limits and on our county roads. Why? First, parents are you allowing this? Will you be responsible when they are involved in an accident?
Either laws need to be passed to cover these vehicles and under-aged and/or non-licensed drivers or law enforcement (city and county) need to step up and enforce current laws.
Safety on our roads is everyone’s concern from the pedestrians to the drivers of 18-wheelers.
I sincerely hope this letter prompts concerns and actions regarding these unauthorized vehicles and the under-aged, non-licensed drivers.
Gail T. Bennett

Barack Obama is indeed the Food Stamp President. Food stamp rolls were 31.9 million in 2009, now have ballooned to 46.4 million recipients. With the prevalent open borders philosophy now in use, there is no telling how large the number will grow.
Michigan now offers welfare assistance and forms in Arabic, reports ConservativeTribune.com. Anything to accommodate in America 2015. One can never be inclusive enough.
Congressman Ron Paul was one of the nation’s first elected officials to support Ronald Reagan for president in 1976 and actively campaigned for Reagan in 1976 and 1980. He was the first member of Congress to endorse Reagan’s candidacy in 1980. Compare Ron Paul’s actions to the opinions of media-designated “conservative” George Will. Will claimed in 1973 that Reagan was too old (age 62) to win and suggested Republicans nominate Tennessee liberal Republican Senator Howard Baker instead. Baker went on to vote for Jimmy Carter’s Panama Canal sellout. Voters noticed Baker’s liberalism and doubletalk and sent him to an early exit when he ran in the 1980 Republican primary for president. So much for George Will’s opinions. There are many conservative voices out there, not on television, who would be a lot sharper than George Will, who has been hanging around the leftwing Washington P- - - newsrag far too long. George has breathed too much of the polluted D.C. air.
I’ll take Gun Owners of America (GunOwners.org) any time over the National Rifle Association. I still remember the NRA endorsing liberal Democrat Roy Barnes for reelection a few years back, in 2002. This brought on a classic response, a great one-liner from an aide to Republican Sonny Perdue, who went on to handily defeat Barnes: “Roy Barnes doesn’t know a gun from a bass boat,” said the Perdue aide. Every poll showed Barnes and liberal Democrat Senator Max Cleland winning reelection that year. Every poll was wrong in both cases.
Retired Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas) says of GOA “The only no-compromise gun lobby in Washington, D.C.”
Dr. Ron Paul’s toll-free message number is 1-888-322-1414.
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Five Florida Republican Congressmen opposed John Boehner’s reelection as House Speaker. Good for the five good guys: Curt Clawson, Rich Nugent, Bill Posey, Dan Webster and Ted Yoho. Dan Webster got a dozen votes for Speaker, including his own, even though he did not challenge Boehner initially. Good for Dan. Unfortunately, Boehner is now in his third term as House Speaker, but his effectiveness has been weakened. Grassroots conservatives challenged Boehner and perhaps have paved the road to defeat for Boehner two years from now.
“We are going to help grassroots activists, brave members of Congress who took a stand today, to continue that fight until the number of pro-liberty votes in Congress reaches critical mass.“
Matt Kibbe, president of Freedom Works
1-6-15 FreedomWorks.org
John “Wacko Bird” McPain (RINO-Arizona) is trying to run all Tea Party-affiliated Republicans out of the Party – local party chairmen, precinct committeemen, everyone they can’t control. It would be nice to see McPain himself run out of office. He claims he’s running for the Senate again in 2016 at the age of 80 or so. As The Bear says on TheAbsurdReport.com: “Forget it John, we all know that you are really a Democrat at heart.” McCain calls conservatives wacko birds when he’s the most wacko Senator imaginable.
Don’t forget – McPain at least three times seriously considered switching to the Demo Party and 2004 Demo presidential candidate John Kerry flirted with the idea of McCain as his running mate. Imagine him being vice president of the USA. If only the establishment Republicans would fight Democrats instead of their own constituents.
Check out on ConservativeByte.com 1-5-15: “Bill Clinton and the Palm Beach Pedophile.” This Levine character is a big Clinton contributor. John Morgan, the Central Florida mega lawyer who went national, is another Clinton moneyman. Morgan’s “for the people” slogan should be changed to “for the liberals.” John Morgan, who calls Clinton “a rock star,” has hosted fundraisers for Clinton at his Florida mansion. Democrats: the party of the richer.[Full Story »]

Dear editor,
We join the rest of the world in mourning the brave staff of the magazine Charlie Hebdo, gunned down by religious fanatics for defending freedom of the press.
Meat industry fanatics in the U.S. have devised a more subtle means of stifling freedom of the press. The states of Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, and Utah have enacted “ag-gag” laws that impose criminal penalties on investigators seeking to expose animal abuses and safety violations in factory farms.
According to an Associated Press report in yesterday’s papers, four members of an animal protection organization were charged with violating Utah’s ag-gag law. They sought to document the daily transport of thousands of pigs from the infamous Circle Four factory farm in Cedar City (UT) to the Farmer John slaughterhouse in Los Angeles.
Ag-gag laws are clearly unconstitutional and are being challenged in federal courts. Assaults on press freedom need to be confronted wherever they rear their ugly heads, even when they assume the legitimacy of a state law.
Sincerely,
Doug Childress

Dear editor,
With the tragic events that unfolded in last week’s terrorist attacks in Paris, France and the liberal socialist governments soft handling of malcontents that live in that country, why is this a surprise? But moreover, present day America is no better off than those folks in Europe!
Case in point: you have a plurality of liberal American voting citizens that elected a man (Barrack Obama) as our president and leader of the free world with ideology that mirrors Marxism in dictatorship of the proletariat, (“you didn’t build that” as Mr. Obama said in his 2011 re-election campaign) a man, Barrack Obama, refuses to call a war on terrorism Islamic Jihad, but an “overseas military contingency operations” and identifying the perpetrators of the Paris, France attack as “a few bad apples” rather than what they are. Vermin from Islam!
A man (Barrack Obama) who is so narcissistic, that a law of “Affordable Care Act (ACA)” that he bought off with appointees to the Supreme Court to make the ACA a law, he then refers to this law as “Obama Care.” A man, Barrack Obama, who reuses to enforce the law that he took an oath to abide by, protect the American citizens from hostile aggression foreign and domestic, OPEN BORDERS to everyone, to include terrorist! A man, Barrack Obama, who is a race hustler and race baiter himself, as illustrated, appointing Eric Holder as the Attorney General, who himself, shows his true colors in not prosecuting the Black Panthers for voter intimidation for assaulting white people with base ball bats at the 2007 elections and not prosecuting black activist Al Sharpton for tax evasion owing the government $4.5 million dollars in back taxes.
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Dear editor,
It’s time for New Year’s resolutions, particularly those about our health. Although gun violence remains the leading cause of death among young people, our most dangerous weapon is still our fork. Forty-five times as many die of chronic diseases linked to a diet containing animal products, sugar, and salt.
Hardly a month goes by without another study linking consumption of animal products with obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers. No reputable study has ever shown an opposite result.
But times are changing. Hundreds of schools, colleges, hospitals, and corporate cafeterias, have embraced Meatless Monday. According to a Gallup poll, 22% of American consumers are avoiding meat and 12% are avoiding dairy products. Harris Interactive claims that 47% of American consumers are reducing consumption of animal products.
Accordingly, plant-based alternatives to meat and dairy products are growing explosively, propelled by investments from Microsoft, Paypal, and Twitter founders. Fast-food chains like Chipotle, Subway, and Taco Bell are rolling out vegan options.
Let this New Year’s resolution be about exploring the rich variety of plant-based entrees, lunch meats, cheeses, ice creams, and milks in our supermarket. The internet offers tons of recipes and transition tips.
Sincerely,
Daniel Calhoun

I hate the left-loaded television chat shows but the one good one that I watch is the Georgia Gang on Atlanta’s TV5, Sunday mornings, with Dick Williams and Phil Kent (PhilKent.com), the good guys and two others, both Atlanta liberals who say the predictable leftist things. I record the show in case I’m at church when it runs.
From The Bear at TheAbsurdReport.com 1-3-15: Protesters carry signs reading “Ferguson Is Everywhere” and at the sign’s bottom “rev.com.us.” GatewayPundit.com has more on this development and says, “These signs are being supplied to the left wing protesters by the Communist Party in America.” Rev.com.us is the Commie Party’s website.
“May the socialist enter private industry, and the libertarian, government.“
Daniel B. Klein, Ph.D. Economics Professor
As they say on FloppingAces.com, nothing is guaranteed except for liberals being foolish.
The leftwing tributes to the late New York governor Mario Cuomo pour in, I remember something he said about columnist Joe Sobran a few years back. Both are now deceased.
Pat Buchanan has said that Joe was “Perhaps the greatest columnist of our generation.” Ann Coulter was a friend of Joe and said he was “America’s greatest writer,” two fine tributes from outstanding writers themselves.
As for Mario Cuomo, he said, “Joe Sobran is a dangerous right-wing extremist.”
Yes, “dangerous” Joe Sobran (Sobran.com) is known for writing “Anything called a ‘program’ is unconstitutional.”
As I type this, the Go Daddy Bowl is on the television set in the background. That’s a catchy name, one to remember. I wonder what coaches Wally Butts and Bear Bryant would think of that name.
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